Three Wishes
by skygirl55
Summary: During the course of an investigation, Castle finds a genie's lamp among a victim's belongings and decides to have some fun. [Crack!fic set mid-season 4]
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Castle Fanfic Monday contribution. There will be 3 parts._

* * *

"Good morning, Detective." Richard Castle approached his lovely partner with a cup of coffee and a smile. He passed her cup over with a tip of his head and a dramatic sweeping arm gesture, as though he'd just presented a gift to a member of the royal family. Then he stepped back and beamed at her.

Kate Beckett took the take-away cup with a suspiciously raised eyebrow. She was all too familiar with her partner's flair for drama, but this seemed over the top for even him—particularly before nine a.m. "You're…awfully chipper this morning. Any particular reason for that?"

Castle merely shrugged. Honestly, there was no reason out of the ordinary. He simply woke up that day feeling so energized he almost would not have needed the coffee, except for force of habit. Yes, the air was a bit nippy; it was January after all, but the sun was shining and no rain or snow was forecasted in the near future. He simply got out of bed, pulled on one of his favorite blue dress shirts, and happily discovered a text message with an address from his favorite crime solving partner. That day, he decided, was going to be a very good day; he could just feel it.

"Okay…well in that case I'm almost afraid to tell you about our latest vic."

The writer's shoulders dropped. "Why? Is it going to bum me out? Did he die in a gruesome way? Wait, no, that wouldn't bum me out. Did he die in an awesome way? But that wouldn't bum me out either."

Kate fought to keep an amused smile from forming on her face. "Are you going to keep guessing or will you let me tell you?"

"Sorry. Please tell me about our vic."

"He was stabbed in the neck with a kitchen knife."

Castle's brow wrinkled. That was as basic and uninteresting a manner of death as he could come up with. Thus, he was confused as to why the detective would have made her earlier comment. "Okay…"

"And," she added with a pause for dramatic effect, "he was a hoarder."

Castle entire expression lifted. In fact, Kate thought that if it was possible, his body would have levitated off the ground. That was why she hesitated to tell him; she knew it would only make his excitement grow.

"A hoarder? Really? A real hoarder?"

She let out a light chuckle. "Come see for yourself."

They walked into the apartment building together and took the stairs to the second floor apartment. Castle took them two at a time leaving Kate to nearly jog to keep up with him. She gestured towards an open door to their left and the writer paused at the entryway to gasp dramatically. His expression of pure delight was not unlike that of a child who discovered a tree stuffed with presents on the morning of December twenty-fifth. Similarly, the apartment was stuffed…but Kate very much doubted anyone would consider the items within "presents."

"Oh my god!" The writer proclaimed. He clasped both hands around his coffee mug and looked back towards his partner. "It's better than I imagined it would be."

Kate rolled her eyes. Leaving him to his giddiness, she returned to the living area of the apartment, where the victim's body was sprawled out in among tightly packed furniture and boxes filled with god only knew what. Conveniently, his body landed in the only part of the apartment with any visible floor space. This, she supposed, was because it happened to be the area between the couch and the television; all surrounding space was taken up with junk.

"COD exsanguination?" Kate asked the ME crouching down beside the body.

Lanie nodded. "Appears to be; I can confirm once he's back at the morgue."

Kate nodded towards the bloodied knife in a plastic bag resting atop the nearby coffee table. "Safe to assume that's the murder weapon?"

"Again, most likely, but I'll confirm for you."

"Thanks Lanie. I'll-" Kate stopped abruptly when she heard a thud and a distant curse coming from the distinct voice of her partner. Groaning inwardly she yelled out, "Castle!"

"Sorry! Sorry! I tried not to knock anything over but jeez it's just so tight back here!"

Kate and the ME exchanged eye rolls before she followed the sound of his voice. Due to the limited space, Kate had to follow the path leading back to the apartment entrance and then take a secondary path leading away from the kitchen area and living room. "Castle? Where are you?"

"I—ah, crap—I think I'm in a bedroom?"

A few steps later Kate found a door open barely more than a few inches. She poked her head inside and spotted the top of the writer's head almost completely hidden behind a stack of boxes. She stepped forward into the doorway, but found her shoulders constricted by the limited space. Turning her body sideways, she wondered how Castle's large frame had even fit into this room.

Grunting as she shoved her way in past a large grandfather clock covered in years' worth of filth and grime she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Just looking around. There's so much weird shit in here!"

Spotting a box full of what appeared to be ratty looking Barbie dolls, Kate grimaced. "I can only imagine."

"Shit—Beckett I found a box filled with clown masks. How messed up is that?!"

Kate sidled her way around another pile of junk before she found her partner in the back of the trash-filled room looking into a box. From her vantage point she could indeed see a distributing clown mask and shuddered involuntarily. "Have you found anything useful? Like-"

"A written confession from the killer? Nope." He smiled over at her. "And I doubt we will either. I mean, really, how could you find anything in this mess? Poor CSU…"

Kate let out a mirthless laugh. "Tell me about it—I already heard the lead tech cursing when I got here." She watched as he turned to a new pile of boxes and began to rummage. "Do you even want to see the body?"

"No," he said, not looking at her. "This is way more interesting."

"Suit yourself. I'm going to go see if we can get an ID for this guy."

Castle heard the footsteps of his partner disappear into the distance, but he took little notice; he was too enthralled with the latest box of junk he was rummaging through. A hoarder's apartment! How exciting!

Being that he considered his ability to waste hours on end almost a second career, Castle was no stranger to trash TV and he considered shows chronicling the lives of hoarders to be highly entertaining. While he certainly possessed more than his fair share of knick-knacks and mementoes, Castle still could not conceptualize keeping every newspaper that had been printed over the prior forty years. Sure, he had clutter, and Alexis's toys and things sprawled everywhere in the apartment never bothered him, but even he had his limits.

What Castle found most fascinating about this hoarder's apartment was how random the items seemed to be. He had yet to find piles of newspapers and magazines, but instead the boxes were filled with an amalgamation of objects, much of which were broken. It was almost as though the man had dumpster-dived for most of his treasures. Then again, the writer mused, maybe he had.

Opening yet another box, Castle discovered a broken tennis racket atop what appeared to be rusted, tarnished cooking equipment. He found two pots, a tea kettle, and what he initially thought was a gravy boat, but upon further examination, he wasn't so sure. The tarnished metal object had the general shape of a gravy boat with a handle on one end and a spout at the other, but it also had a lid that seemed to be tightly affixed to what would have been the top opening to a gravy boat.

Humming to himself, he flipped the object over to see if anything was written on the bottom, but nothing was. Turning it to view the other side, he thought he saw something inscribed, but it was difficult to tell with the tarnished metal. Castle pulled his sleeve down over his hand and began to rub the side of the object in an attempt to remove the stains.

No more than three seconds after he began to rub, the object began to rattle in his hands. Confused, Castle stared down at it, the wrinkling in his brow intensifying. What the hell was going on?

Suddenly, a plumb of smoke erupted from the spout end of the object and an ethereal figure appeared beside him in the room. Castle dropped the lamp. "What the…"

The smoke began to take shape into a human shaped form: a head, shoulders, and a long thin body. The figure, which appeared to be male, had a goatee, a puffy shirt, and pants one might expect to see in a play meant to be set in the Middle East. Oddly, he appeared entirely in black and white; even the skin on his face was a grayish tone.

"Wha-what…are you?" Castle asked, taking a step back from the figure.

The figure focused his dark gray eyes on the writer. "I now serve you, Master of the Lamp."

The voice filled the room as though it echoed through a cavern. Castle looked around, half expecting to see speakers affixed to the walls. Surely, this was some kind of joke. But then, he looked down at the object that had fallen by his feet and it hit him. Not a gravy boat—a lamp! A lamp like Aladdin's!

"Genie! Are you a genie!?" He asked, doing a little hop of excitement.

"I have been called many things over my many years," the figure replied.

"Oh awesome!" He proclaimed. A genie! He knew it was going to be a great day! "So do I get three wishes?"

"By the law of the lamp, I am required to provide my Master with three of his desires, but there are rules to the-"

"Yeah, yeah I know." Castle waved his hand casually. Of course he was intimately familiar with the rules of magic and related lore! "Can't kill anyone, can't bring anyone back from the dead—I know I know. Hmmm…" He brought his finger up to tap against his chin as he considered the options for the first of his wish trifecta.

"Castle!" The voice of his partner momentarily distracted him. "Are you ready to go?"

"In a minute!"

Now, he thought, what to wish for. Money? But he already had that. Fame? He had some of that too. A unique artifact was always an option. Or—oh! Where Jimmy Hoffa was buried. But, maybe not. Maybe-

"Castle!"

"I'm coming!"

And then, there was Beckett. Oh, she would have a field day if she realized he had discovered a genie. Naturally, she wouldn't believe him, because that was her way. She'd need physical proof if she-

"Castle—c'mon! You have thirty seconds or I'm leaving you here."

He grumbled in the direction of the doorway and then he turned back to the genie. The perfect wish popped into his mind, so he decided to try it out. "My first wish is that for one day I want to know exactly what Beckett is thinking and she has to answer everything I ask her with one hundred percent honesty." Then, as the words left his mouth he realized how they sounded and cringed. "Wait that's one wish right?"

The genie nodded and then the smoke dissipated into the room and he was gone.

"Castle!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He grumbled before turning to leave the room, the lamp lying forgotten on the floor. He rounded the corner of boxes and found himself nearly trapped by the door. Damn, how had he gotten in this room anyway?

* * *

When Castle emerged into the main hallway of the apartment building, he found his partner waiting with her arms folded over one of her many attractive coats. One of her most common expressions was etched across her face; it displayed approximately eighty percent annoyance and twenty percent amusement. "Let me see your hands."

"What? Why?" He asked, holding them up, palms out.

She glanced down at him and then shrugged before turning towards the stairs. "Since you didn't come when I asked I figured you found something _so interesting_ you just couldn't tear yourself away and I was worried you'd brought it along as a souvenir."

He gave the back of her head an annoyed look. "Kate, you know I know better than that."

She hummed and glanced back over her shoulder when they reached the bottom floor. "So what was it?"

"What was what?"

"The interesting thing that grabbed your attention?"

"Oh." Castle stopped walking for a moment as he considered his response. He knew exactly what would happen if he told his partner that he found a genie's lamp. She would laugh at him and then ask him what he really found. Even if she did believe him, he wasn't quite ready to reveal what he'd found yet; he needed to see if his wish worked first. "Nothing, really, just something silly. Hey, I, ah, forgot to ask you." This was it—the moment of truth. "What do you think of my new shirt?"

He reply was instant and without hesitation. "It's nice; it really brings out the blue in your eyes…" Kate's voice dropped off as she paused just outside the apartment building. Her cheeks immediately felt hot. Why the hell had she said that? She'd meant to stop at, "it's nice," but somehow her brain had continued without her permission.

Kate glanced back at her partner and saw he was wearing a smirk, which made her cheeks feel even more aflame. Clearing her throat, she dipped her chin and walked hurriedly towards the car. "C'mon; let's go."

Castle jogged after her, barely able to contain his glee. Okay, so her telling him that his shirt brought out the blue in his eyes was hardly the most revealing thing she could have said; however, as it was a very un-Beckett thing to say, he felt as though his wish had come true, but he wasn't done testing it yet. "Where are we going?"

"ID came back on the vic. Henry Matheson. He does medical billing at a health clinic not too far from here; we're going to interview his employer."

Once the writer had joined the detective in her car, he posed his next question. "So I saw on the news this morning there was a story done on inter-office romances and whether or not they're a good idea. What do you think?"

"I…I think that entirely depends on the situation."

Castle pressed his lips together. Her response was too vague to tell if it was a forced truth or not, so he needed to press further. "So you're saying it would depend on the people? Or their positions—such as a superior and his or her subordinate?"

"Both. I think every situation is unique."

The writer drummed his fingers against the car's doorframe as he considered his next question. He wanted to ask whether or not she thought a relationship between partners would work, but perhaps that was not the wisest decision. If she truthfully answered no, he would be quite upset, so perhaps it was best not to tempt fate too much—at least not this early in the wish. He needed to let the situation unfold more naturally.

Conveniently, as the next intersection he was presented with a new opportunity. Within the cluster of New Yorkers crossing the street was a woman with a very full figure. She wore a skin tight white sweater with leopard print leggings on the bottom only the leggings were not complete leggings—the side of the leggings appeared to be laced with black leather. Unfortunately, the lacing was not superficial as the woman's skin could be clearly seen in among the laces crossing. Simply put: Castle was horrified such an item of clothing was even made let alone being worn. Thus, he turned to his partner with a mildly devious expression.

Kate was not one to outwardly comment on anyone's appearance. Though they'd passed more than their fair share of wildly dressed individuals, he was generally the commenter; Kate merely chuckled or gave him an annoyed look. In fact, in the duration of their partnership, he'd only known her to comment on someone's attire once. The prior summer when they had been canvassing for witnesses they ran into a man wearing a shirt clearly displaying a completely vulgar, curse-word laden expression. Kate had comment that such a shirt should not be made and sold in stores thus implying her distaste, though not saying it outright. As the pants on the woman crossing the street were clearly inappropriate not to mention entirely unflattering, Castle thought he'd take a shot.

"Hey Beckett—look at that."

She clicked her tongue in response. "I saw it; someone should tell that woman to never wear those pants again—I-I'm sorry; I don't know why I said that." She glanced over at him nervously before gripping the steering wheel a bit tighter.

 _Bingo!_ Castle thought. Kate Beckett definitely would not have said that unless she no longer had control of the opinions exiting her mouth. So, the Genie was the real deal. Smiling, he leaned his head against the headrest and said, "Don't worry; I was thinking the same thing."

* * *

Richard Castle exited the break room of the twelfth precinct with two mugs of coffee in hand. As he approached the desk of his partner, he did so in a form not unlike a cheetah stalking a gazelle. Truthfully, he could not have been more pleased with himself. While at the doctor's office waiting to speak with the vic's boss, he had been "casually" reading a women's magazine and managed to get the detective to confess her favorite facial feature was his eyes. Naturally, she looked horrified at the admission, but he was thrilled. Now that he'd annoyed her completely, it was time for phase two.

"Beckett."

Despite the fact that he'd just placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of her, she did not look up from her computer screen when she growled out her response. "What?"

Though he may have normally taken offense at her less-than-pleasant tone, Castle merely fought a grin. He was annoying the hell out of her and could not have been prouder about it. "Are you mad?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I can't stop telling you what I really think today." Startled by her own confession for the fourth time that day, Kate jolted in her seat and nervously reached out for her coffee mug. Before she could bring it to her lips, her partner practically chortled.

"I know; isn't it great?"

Kate turned her eyes slowly to the side; her head followed a second later. When her gaze landed on the face of her coworker, her gut clenched. Son of a bitch. He'd done something; she knew it. He had that guilty-as-sin-but-trying-to-hide-it look on his face. She put the cup down so violently on the desk that the coffee sloshed around and a few droplets landed just beside her computer keyboard. "What did you do?"

The writer leaned back in his seat and smiled at her with the innocence of a Valentine's Day cherub. "Me?"

"Yes you."

"Wha—how do you know I did something?" he challenged, one eyebrow raised.

"Because you-you-you've got that god awful smirk on your face and you always get it when you pulled something Castle-y."

Castle laughed at his partner's forced honesty. That time she was so annoyed that she did not even look embarrassed upset at her confession. Though it amused him at first, the more he thought about it, he became slightly annoyed as well—at himself. "Interesting; I thought I had a better poker face than that." And he probably did—when he was playing poker. With Kate, he'd long given up hiding how he truly felt. He knew it was written all over his face any time he looked at her.

"Castle!"

His amusement returned at her growl. Very slowly and casually, he set his coffee mug down on the edge of her desk. He then laced his hands together and leaned his elbow against the chair arm so he could lean in a bit closer to her. Being careful not to get too close and let the dragon's breath escaping her lips singe him, he began softly, "Let me get this straight: your theory is that you have to tell me the truth—no matter what—and somehow I am responsible for this?"

"Yes, but I know that sounds insane; it can't be possible."

He fought a laugh by pressing his lips tightly together. A few hours earlier, he more than likely would have agreed with her; he would not have believed that he was capable of forcing her to tell the truth. Then, he met a genie and things became a little more interesting. He knew it was dangerous, but he could not resist prodding her just a little further. "So…I could ask you anything right now and you'd have to tell me the truth."

"Yes." The word escaped her lips and she leaned back, attempting to hedge. "I-I-I mean, I-" but she was unable to force out what she really wanted to say: there was no way in hell she was going to answer his questions; she was done with this charade.

"Beckett, have you ever…"

 _Oh god, oh god_. "Castle." Naturally, he paid no attention to her warning.

"…had a sex dream…"

 _Shit! Oh god!_ If he finished that question and she was forced to answer… "CASTLE!"

"…about Gates?"

Just as a positive answer was about to spill out her lips she choked and a difference response came out instead. "No! No of course not. That's...disturbing." And a relief! If he had said another name instead of the captain's…

Endlessly pleased with himself for making his partner sweat, Castle posed his next query. "Who do you like better: Ryan or Espo?"

"Espo."

"Who do you like better: Espo or Me?"

"You—damn it Castle!" She slammed both her palms down flat on the desk. This was getting ridiculous. He was asking questions so quickly she could hardly process them, but somehow her brain could and was answering without her knowledge. God, she was losing her mind. "Stop asking me questions!"

An amused chuckle escaped his lips. "Beckett, can you lie to me?" He already knew the answer, of course, but he wanted to make sure she knew it as well.

"No. Ugh! Castle what did you do?!"

With a pleased smile, he leaned back in his seat again. "Trust me, detective; you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Kate pushed herself up from her seat and began to pace the area around her desk. She skimmed her fingertips over her brow and shook her head. How was hit possible? It wasn't possible—not at all. Rationally, she knew that. Yet…somehow… "How did you do this? How? Truth serum? That works right? That's a thing."

He tried to fight his smirk, but there was no use. "Your proposition is that I slipped you truth serum? Interesting. How would I have done this?"

"I-I don't…" She stammered but her voice trailed off when she gripped the back of her chair with her hands and her gaze fell on her desk and the forgotten coffee mug. Coffee! Oh god—how could he have done something so nefarious to something so sacred!? "Castle did you spike my coffee with truth serum?"

He laughed at her pure horror. "No I didn't - I swear I didn't!"

She threw her hands out to the side. "Then what the hell is going on?!"

Knowing he could torture her no longer, Castle stood from his seat and stepped up beside her so he could speak as quietly as possible. Nearly whispering in her ear he explained, "A genie granted me three wishes."

Had she possessed the power of telekinesis, her stare would have sent a sharp dagger directly into his throat. "Try again."

"I swear Beckett; it's true! My wish was that you couldn't lie to me today and apparently it came true."

Her eyes narrowed. "Why would you wish that?"

Shrugging, he stepped back. "Just trying to get inside your head detective."

Kate's jaw dropped. She didn't buy his genie theory for one second. Truth serum still seemed more likely. No matter the method, it appeared he was at least being somewhat truthful when it came to his confession that somehow, some way she was unable to lie to him or keep any of her internal thoughts to herself. As that realization settled over her, fury boiled in her veins. "Castle! This is a terrible violation of my privacy! How could you do this!?"

Maintaining his casual exterior, he folded his arms over his chest. "Do you regularly lie to me?"

"I-n-not regularly," she stammered out, fighting a continuous battle with her brain so she did not reveal anything further. She didn't lie to him, really. Well, little white lies now and then, but who didn't do that? She did not even count those as lies. If she was guilty of anything, it would have been withholding truths from him—and she did not even do that too often. Except for that one major thing…

"But you have lied to me."

"As I'm sure you've lied to me." She countered, referring, if nothing else, to the same white lies she was guilty of.

Thinking specifically of the hidden Johanna Beckett murder board in his apartment, he nodded his head. "That's fair. So I'll do you the same courtesy. No matter what you ask me today, I won't lie."

Grumbling, she asked, "How did you get me to tell the truth?"

"I told you: a genie."

"CASTLE!"

"What? It was really a genie!" He couldn't blame her for thinking he was lying. Were the positions reversed he too would have been skeptical. Okay…he would have believed her sooner than she was believing him, but he would have been skeptical initially.

"Where the hell did you get a genie?"

"It was in that hoarder's apartment."

"There was a genie in the hoarder's apartment?" she asked in an even tone lacking any color.

"Yes—well, technically the genie's lamp."

"Show me."

"What?"

"You heard me," she said, plucking her coat off the back of her chair. "Show me."

* * *

"Okay so it was right around here…" Twenty minutes later Castle led his very irritated partner through the tight maze of boxes in the hoarder's apartment. Unsurprisingly, CSU had made little progress in removing the boxes in the prior few hours; the bedroom in which Castle found the lamp was completely untouched. When he rounded the next corner of boxes, he spotted it on the floor where it had been dropped. "Ah!"

Kate watched as her partner bent over and then held up his newest prized possession. Her eyes flicked from the lamp, to the writer's face, and then back. It looked like an ordinary piece of junk to her. "So where's the genie?"

Castle merely smiled and rubbed the lamp as he had before. Not a few seconds later the ethereal figure reformed and Castle gestured with an open palm. "Ta da!"

Kate blinked at him. "Ta da what?"

He pointed. "The genie."

"Where?"

"There."

"Castle!"

His brow wrinkled. "Wait, can't you see the genie?"

"I can only be seen by my master." The lamp-dweller informed him.

Castle sighed and threw down his hands. "Oh crap...he says only I can see him!"

Now genuinely concerned for her partner's wellbeing, Kate stepped up in front of him and placed her left hand flat against his forehead to feel if his temperature was elevated. Castle making up wild stories was to be expected, but carrying a farce through this far… "Castle, are you okay? I mean, does your head hurt? Maybe you need a CAT scan…"

He gave her a perturbed look. "I'm not crazy."

"You're seeing things that aren't there…"

"He is there! You're standing like three inches from him. Besides how else do you explain not being able to lie?"

She opened her mouth to respond but no sound came out initially. Well, that seemed like progress. "Maybe the truth serum is wearing off…"

He gave her a challenging expression. "How old were you when you lost your virginity?"

"Sixteen—DAMN IT." She cursed when the answer exited her lips before she could stop it. Then, noting the writer's pleased smile she felt a new onslaught of horror. She poised herself to yell at him but then found herself completely embarrassed by what she had already confessed—not to mention all the questions her partner would surely pepper her with that afternoon now that his super power had been confirmed. God, what a mess. "I…need some air."

As Castle watched his partner sidle out of the row of boxes, he realized she was not angry with him anymore, but looked quite upset. Shit. He was all about ribbing her in the name of good fun, but he never actually wanted to upset her. He was an idiot. Of course Kate, queen of her own lead-lined walls of emotional security, would hate being completely vulnerable to him. He definitely needed to make it up to her; he needed to apologize, but first…

Looking over at the genie, he smiled. "I think know what I want for my second wish."


	2. Chapter 2

Castle found his partner on the sidewalk in front of the hoarder's apartment building. She paced back and forth between parking meters, her hands resting on her hips. He called out her name to draw her attention and she stopped walking. Her eyes flicked to him and she looked annoyed as ever. He began with a heavy sigh.

"Beckett, I need to apologize to you. What I did wasn't fair and it was very selfish of me. It's just... you said you're working on bringing down your walls and I know you are—I can tell. Sometimes, though, it still feels like you keep a lot from me and I wish you wouldn't. You can talk to me about anything, you know that right? I'm always here for you. As your partner and as your friend." As he'd promised to be truthful to her, his confession was one hundred percent honest, and more than he normally would have said given their unspoken rule of dancing around their true feelings for one another. However, given how far he'd stuck his foot into his mouth, he felt the confession was warranted.

As he had asked her a question, Kate had no choice but to answer, but that time she didn't mind confessing the truth. "Yeah...yeah I know." If there was one thing her partner had consistently proven over the years it was that he would always be there for her. Her broken brain did not always believe that, but deep down she knew it was true.

He offered her a gentle smile. "Well, okay. Good. And I promise not to intentionally ask you anything revealing for the rest of the day. That's how long this lasts, by the way; everything will go back to normal tomorrow. And, again, I'm sorry."

Kate nodded and for the first time that hour let out a relieved breath. "Thank you." She was not entirely convinced he would not ask her any more revealing questions that day. She suspected that as the expiration clock on his wish ticked down, Castle might be more tempted than ever to ask her questions that would warrant more than superficial response. However, his promise made her reasonably confident he would not ask her something completely inappropriate—like if she'd ever had a sex dream about him.

As they walked to her car, Castle added in a casual tone, "And I'd like to make it up to you. Let me make you dinner tonight." This request was, of course, anything but casual. It was a crucial component of Wish Number Two coming to fruition.

Her eyes flicked towards him. Well, that sounded like a terrible idea. Keeping Castle by her side in public places was one thing—at least he had limited temptations then, but if they were completely alone in his apartment? She was sure he'd break his promise and ask her…god, she didn't even want to think about it "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Please? I really feel bad...and, as I said, I promise I will not ask you any questions."

Fortunately, he had not asked her a direct question so she was free to hedge. "Ah, well, I'm not sure where we'll be with this case."

He bobbed his head in an attempt to keep it casual and not give himself away. "Ok sure...let's just wait and see."

* * *

Richard Castle was the luckiest man in the world. Not only had he discovered a genie's lamp and been subsequently granted three wishes, but his second wish—one which depended highly on the evening availability of one Kate Beckett—was playing out perfectly. As a confident man who normally had his fair share of good fortunate, Castle was not worried, but things were playing out even better than he'd imagined.

Lanie had confirmed that their victim was stabbed in the neck with a kitchen knife between six and eight p.m. the prior evening. In going through the victim's phone, they found a text message chain confirming a six p.m. appointment at the victim's apartment. From there, the case unraveled quite nicely.

When tec traced the phone number, they discovered it belonged to a man named Arnold Haply. Haply owned a business dealing in rare comic books and other collectibles. As soon as they went to question him, Haply took off running. Kate caught him and the story came out quite easily. Over the phone, they had settled on a price, but when Haply arrived, the victim requested more money for his goods. They argued and Haply stabbed him before stealing the comics. With his confession, the case came to a close at the most convenient hour of four p.m., which worked perfectly for Castle's evening plans.

"So about dinner," he began once they were back at the twelfth and Haply was being processed by central booking.

Kate sighed and sank into her desk chair. "Castle, I really-"

He jumped in before she could turn him down. "Ok not dinner. How about...a drink and dessert—celebrate after you finish your paperwork?"

She grumbled as she looked up at him. "You're not going to take no for an answer are you."

His ear to ear grin practically answered for him. "No."

She shook her head and, despite herself, cracked a small smile. "Ok fine, fine."

Resisting the urge to show too much glee, Rick bobbed his head. "Seven?"

"Y-yeah okay I'll try to make it there by seven." It was as honest a confession she could give. Yes, the case was straightforward, but paperwork was paperwork. Unfortunately, she did not have the advantage of a magical—and possibly nonexistent—genie to wish away all the forms she had to fill out.

Slipping his hands down into his jacket pocket, he said, "Try very hard—I have something...timely in mind."

Her brow wrinkled. "How is dessert timely?"

In response, he winked. "Where's the fun in ruining the surprise?"

* * *

At six thirty that evening, Castle stood in his kitchen, palms flat against the kitchen counter, waiting. Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies were cooling on wire racks a few inches away. A bottle of red wine and three glasses sat before him. Alexis was spending the night at a friend's and his mother had been bribed with a spa gift card to disappear for the evening. It was almost time.

Just as he was about to wonder how his special guest would arrive, she materialized on the opposite side of the eat-at counter as easily as the genie appeared from the lamp—except, without the smoke. Fortunately, unlike her wish-bestowing counterpart, she was not black and white, but fully colorized looking no different than she had when she was alive. At least, Rick assumed she looked no different. He had never had the pleasure of meeting her; he only saw her in pictures.

"Uh hi," he said, stepping around the kitchen counter and walking around to greet his guest. Her eyes fell on him and a soft smile formed. "You must be Johanna Beckett; I'm Rick Ca-"

"Oh I know exactly who you are."

"Oh." He stopped walking a foot from her and his brow wrinkled. "Did the genie tell you?"

Truthfully, he hadn't given his second wish much forethought; it had been quite spur of the moment. He knew, per the rules of magic, he could not wish to resurrect Kate's mother from her grave. Instead, his request was to spend a few hours with the woman, but he wasn't sure that was an allowable wish. The genie had not outright told him anything, but as soon as the request was out of his mouth, the being nodded and disappeared, leaving Castle to assume the wish would be granted, yet he was completely unsure in what form.

As he made that evening's dessert, the macabre side of his brain briefly feared Johanna would appear in the same form as she left the earth: her abdomen bloodied with the stab wounds that caused her demise. Thankfully, that was not the case. She was dressed in a clean navy pantsuit with a cream colored blouse not unlike one her daughter would wear.

Johanna took a step towards him and clasped her hands in front of her. "There was no need; I've been watching you for quite some time and there's something I've wanted to say for almost four years."

Castle swallowed involuntarily. Was the ghost of Kate's mother going to yell at him!? Her tone was so even and, well, lawyer-y that he couldn't tell. Her expression was unreadable and searching her eyes proved no further clues. Unsure what else to say, he dumbly responded with, "Okay?"

A smile grew across Johanna's face and Castle's heart lurched; the smile matched Kate's almost exactly. The woman stepped up and rested both of her hands gently on his biceps. He nearly jumped at the fact that he could actually feel her touch. "Thank you," she said, gazing directly into his eyes, "for bringing my daughter back to life."

Castle's brow rose. She knew. She knew about him. She knew about them. The prospect of what that knowledge meant for the universe was too much for him to process at the moment so he merely bobbed his head and said, "It's been my pleasure."

Johanna dropped her hands and turned her body to observe the space. "This is quite a place you have here, Rick."

"Oh; thank you. Can I, ah, get you a drink? Or…no, because you're a ghost? Are you a ghost?" Honestly he had no idea. As she was no longer living, her presence in his apartment could be considered ghost-like, but in his minds ghosts were transparent beings. Were his hand to touch a ghost, it would go right through. Yet, he'd felt Johanna's touch and she seemed to be a solid being so he was confused as to the proper terminology.

She merely chuckled. "Not exactly."

Castle grimaced. "Sorry…this is my first encounter with a genie. And a dead person."

She shrugged. "This is my first encounter with the living after my death."

"So wine?" he offered. She shook her head. "Okay well then, um, just have a seat. Anywhere. Make yourself comfortable."

Johanna walked into the living area, bypassed the couch and went directly to the writer's over-stuffed bookshelves. "Will my daughter be joining us?"

"Ah, yes—yes. Let me just text her to make sure…" Castle pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen. Six forty-two. As she had promised seven, she wasn't late just yet, but there was no harm in sending her a quick reminder.

* * *

 _Kate I will literally give you one million dollars if you show up at my apt in the next 10 mins_

Castle grumbled as he hit send on his latest text message. It was nearly seven thirty and, unlike Cinderella, Johanna Beckett didn't have until midnight; her presence in his apartment would expire at nine. For the prior half hour he had been begging and prodding Kate with no avail. He wanted to surprise her and thus did not want to tell her who was waiting for her or why it was so urgent that she come to his apartment, but he also did not want her to miss out by thinking he was merely trying to get her there to pepper her with questions knowing she had to answer truthfully.

"I'm really sorry about this…apparently trying to surprise her isn't going well."

Johanna chuckled. "That sounds about right."

He smiled and stood from the couch, unable to remain seating. His hour long conversation with the elder woman had gone well—very well. Johanna was a fascinating, enjoyable woman to talk to. And, of course, the childhood stories about Kate were priceless gems he would treasure forever.

Finally, five minutes after his last text, there was a knock at his apartment door. Rubbing his sweaty palms on his jeans, Castle hurried to the door and opened it to find his partner looking particularly perturbed. "Jesus Christ Castle; are you out of your mind!?" she proclaimed before pushing past him. "I told you I was working on paperwork and I would be over when I was done. What is so damned im-"

She stopped mid-word when her eyes fell on the figure in the center of his apartment. All color drained from her face and she was convinced her heart actually stopped beating.

Castle closed the door behind the statuesque figure before speaking her name gently while simultaneously putting a hand on her shoulder. She jumped as though she'd been electrocuted. "No…"

He watched as her chest heaved up and down and moisture began to collect in her eyes. "It's okay, Kate," he told her gently.

After almost a full minute of staring, she was able to tear her eyes away from what her brain told her was impossible and turn towards her partner. A single tear slipped down her cheek and she spoke just barely above a whisper. "Castle?"

Gently, he placed a hand on her back. That time, she didn't flinch. "I know you still don't believe me about the genie but…well, I used my second wish for this. You have about an hour left with her. I'll be in my office if you need anything." Then, after offering a soft smile to Kate and a nod to Johanna, Castle slipped into his office and shut the door.

Kate remained frozen in the entryway of Castle's loft. Her eyes turned towards the sitting area where the woman was now standing beside the couch. No. No. No. This couldn't be happening—this wasn't happening. It was…impossible. Insane. Somehow, her brain was suffering from the same affliction as Castle's; they were both losing their minds.

"Come here, Katie."

As if her feet were no longer controlled by her brain, which was near the point of shutting down, Kate shuffled forward until she stood at the edge of the area rug separating the hall from the seating area. Oh god. Oh god. Was this really happening? "Mom?"

The elder woman smiled. "Yes it's me."

Kate sniffed back a few tears and brushed a few more from her cheeks with her fingertips. "I…oh god how is this possible?"

Johanna shook her head. "Don't worry about that. C'mere."

Tentatively, Kate stepped forward. She lifted her hand, but paused with it out in front of her. "I…can I touch you?"

"Of course."

Terrified, she stepped forward. As she did so, Johanna lifted her hand and clasped it around her daughter's. Kate gasped. It felt warm and solid and real. Tears began falling down her face at even intervals. With one more choked gasp, she fell forward into her mother's arms. "Oh my god Mom."

Johanna wrapped her arms around her and pulled her in tight. "It's okay Katie; it's okay."

Kate clung to her mother as though her very life depended on it. She pulled her body in tightly and her face slid into the crook of the older woman's neck. There, she could smell the faint remaining scent of her mother's perfume, which caused even more tears to fall. In that moment Kate did not care if she was insane or if Castle had really discovered the world's only genie. She just needed that moment to be real. "I miss you so much."

"I know, but I've been here for everything Katie. Watching you graduate college, the police academy. I'm so proud of you, honey."

As Johanna stroked her hair, Kate clung even tighter. "You don't know how many times I wished I could call you or talk to you or-"

"I know, honey; I know."

The women held each other for several more minutes before Kate broke their hug to collect the tissue box conveniently located on the nearby coffee table. She mopped up her cheeks and beneath her nose thinking that maybe she could finally get her emotions under control. However, when she turned around and caught sight of her mother's smile, the tears returned.

Johanna reached out her hand and stroked down her daughter's face. "C'mon, let's sit down and you can tell me anything you want; we have some time."

Kate nodded and sat down beside her mother. She pulled her legs up to tuck underneath her and set the tissue box by her knees. Then she reached out and grabbed on to her mother's hand, fearful that a lack of physical contact would make the woman disappear before she was ready. They stared at each other for almost thirty second before Kate let out a light laugh. "I don't know where to begin!"

Johanna smiled and gave her daughter's hand a squeeze. "I do. Why don't we start with that handsome man in the other room?"

Kate felt a blush began to creep into her cheeks. She knew her mother saw it, because Johanna smiled wider, which caused Kate's embarrassment to flourish. "Castle?"

"Yes, him. Your partner. The man who dedicates all his novels to you—novels he writes about a character based on you. He seems to love you quite a bit."

"I…" As her mother's words registered in her brain, Kate eyes dropped to her lap. She knew about the books? Had Castle told her about them before she arrived? But she knew about the dedications, too. It seemed odd that Castle would bring those up, so she suspected her mother knew about them from before somehow. Of course Johanna mentioned seeing Kate's graduation as well, so Kate supposed that as long as the impossible was happening, anything could true. "It's…complicated."

"Oh I know. Believe me, I do, but sweetheart I don't want my death to prevent you from living your life."

Kate looked up and Johanna continued while stroking her hand. "The best thing you could ever do is to love someone and let them love you. I know it's scary—I felt the same way you do—but it's so worth it, honey. The risk is more than worth the reward."

* * *

 _A/N: The conclusion will be posted on Sunday - thanks for reading & reviewing!_


	3. Chapter 3

Richard Castle glanced up from his laptop at the sound of his office door opening. His detective partner slipped inside looking quite unlike her normal sense. She seemed…smaller somehow. Almost, childlike. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail and she held in her hand an empty square cardboard box bearing the Kleenex logo.

Castle's eyes dipped to the corner of his computer screen and he saw that it was just after nine p.m. which meant the ghost—or whatever it was—of Johanna Beckett had more than likely left the building. He shut his laptop screen and smiled up at her gently. "Is she gone?"

Kate hummed and stepped up to the edge of his desk, resting the tissue box down on the mahogany surface.

"Do you need more tissues?"

"Wha—ah, no. No, I just used the last of this box. Sorry."

Castle shook off her apology and took the empty box, tossing it in the trash can behind him. Looking back to her he asked, "Are you okay?"

As she was still required to respond with full honesty, she said, "I don't know," because she truly didn't. Watching her mother disappear once more was difficult, though Kate could not honestly say she felt sad about it. She had the rare privilege of speaking with a once lost loved one. And, yeah, maybe it was all in her head; maybe it didn't happen, but it sure felt like closure. Looking down at the writer she asked, "Why did you do that?"

"Because I felt bad about my whole forcing you to tell the truth thing...why are you shaking your head?"

"You promised not to lie to me."

"That's not a lie."

Kate nodded to this. Okay, so his answer was plausible, but it certainly wasn't singular. "What's the other reason then?"

He leaned back in his chair and folded his hands across his lap. "Well I thought about it and really look at my life—what do I need? I'm successful, I'm wealthy. I don't need three wishes so I thought about what you might want." When he saw how much he'd hurt her, he knew immediately that he wanted to use his second wish to make it up to her. Doing so could not be done with any material object, so he thought about all the pieces he knew made up the fundamentals of Kate's personality. Her mother's death defined her in so many ways, which was why his decision to give her the opportunity to speak to and see her mother once more was almost too easy.

Kate skimmed her fingertips across the desk and asked, "Is that all?"

Castle pressed his lips together and his chest constricted. Her heavy lidded gaze told much more than her three word inquiry. Why had he bothered to use his second wish to bring Johanna to her? Why had he used his first wish to get inside her head? Because he would do anything to make her happy.

Shaking his head, he said, "No, it's not all but I-"

"Rick."

"Yeah?"

"Ask me how I feel about you."

He felt his cheeks flush. That was the question he wanted most to ask her, but the one he promised himself he wouldn't—not when she had no choice but to tell him the truth. "Kate."

"Ask me."

Her voice was strong, and she made it difficult to refuse her. Standing from his chair, he walked around to her side of the desk. "I... I think this evening has been emotional enough for you and-"

"Castle, ask me."

The expression on her face had turned from determined to one bearing a wry smile, but he wasn't going to give in. "No."

Her brow rose an inch. "Why?"

He shook his head. _So many reasons_ … "Because I...I don't want to trick you into telling me."

"It's not a trick when I'm asking you to do it."

"I...want you to tell me—of your own accord. No magical involvement. I think I deserve that much." They had been through so much together—so much. He loved her more and more each day and knew in his heart they were meant to be together—but only when she was ready. Her opening up to him, her telling him how she felt of her own free will would be the sign; that's how he'd know she was ready. He wanted that—he wanted her to say those three words—but not before she was ready. If they started too soon and things didn't work out… he didn't want to think about it.

She was silent for almost a full minute before she dropped her eyes to the middle of his chest and confessed, "I don't know if I can."

He took a step back from her. "Then we'll wait. Really, it's fine."

She gazed up at him, tentative. "You'll wait?"

He smiled easily. "Of course. I know I promised I wouldn't ask you anything more but—you...you want me to wait right?"

He held his breath until she responded with an affirmative, "Yes."

Castle reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders, skimming his fingers across her back. "And you...you know how I feel about you?" She bobbed her head and he smiled at her. "Okay." Then, he pulled her in close.

Kate didn't hesitate to fall into his arms, tuck her head beneath his chin, and wrap her arms around his back. She relaxed fully for the first time in days and breathed in that oh-so-perfect Castle scent from his chest. She completely understood why he asked her to tell him how she felt without being forced into honesty by his wish and he was right; he did deserve that. Four years and everything they'd been through he deserved that and more. Still, even after her talk with her mother, Kate wasn't sure if she was quite ready yet; her brain was still too muddled.

Gripping Castle's back a bit tighter, she sighed out, "I don't know how I can ever thank you enough for what you did."

"Don't even worry about it." When she pulled back, he smiled down at her. "Do you want me to call for a car?"

She shook her head. "No I...I think I need the walk."

He nodded. "As long as you're sure…"

She hummed and gave his arm a squeeze as she turned away from him. "Goodnight, Castle."

* * *

Shortly before eleven p.m., Castle stood in his kitchen nursing a glass of whisky quite pleased with himself. It had been a good day. He'd discovered a genie, had two wishes granted, and made his partner very happy in the process. Really, he could not have asked for better. Deciding he'd finish the evening off with some light reading, he began to turn off lights in the apartment, but before his task was complete, he heard a knock at the front door.

Crossing through the living room, he wondered who would be knocking at such a late hour only to discover upon opening the door that it was his partner, bundled in her jacket, her cheeks stained red from the chilled night air. "Kate…what's going on?"

Her only response was to step inside, grip his face with both of her hands, and press her lips against his.

Stunned, Castle took a half step back, but his hands managed to land at her waist just as their lips parted. "Kate…"

Keeping her hands on his cheeks, she leaned her forehead against his and spoke softly. "Ask me how I feel about you."

He grumbled and leaned away knowing it was the only way he'd get clarity. "You're making it difficult for me to not ask you…" Returning to his apartment was one thing, but kissing him? She was absolutely going to be the death of him; he was sure of it.

"Castle, please." She insisted, but when his gaze dipped away from hers she stepped back in and placed her hands on his chest. "I spent the past two hours walking around the city thinking about you and what you did and my mom and what she said. She was right."

Kate had wandered around, taking in the lights, the noises of the streets, and all the people passing by. In many ways she was still scared to be in a relationship, but she also knew that some of those fears just wouldn't go away until she was in the relationship, working through it day by day. Her mother's death was the reason she built the walls, so in an odd way it made sense that her mother's advice would be the thing that brought them crashing down.

His curiosity now piqued, he looked up at her. "What'd she say?"

"The risk is more than worth the reward." With that, she brought her lips to his again. Within a moment she felt his fingertips on her spine as he drew her in closer. Her lips parted and she could feel the heat of his mouth, taste the remnants of whisky. Before she even realized he'd backed her up against the closed door, pressing his hips against hers. A small moan escaped her lips when their mouths separated and his bottom lip brushed against hers. "Castle…ask me."

Castle set his jaw and lowered his forehead to hers. God, how he wanted her. More so now that they'd kissed—really kissed. One taste of her and he knew he'd never get enough, not even with a lifetime together. She'd come back and he couldn't deny them now; he had to know. "Kate," he began, his voice husky, "how do you feel about me?"

She didn't even bother to fight the words as they came out. Her fingertips dug into his shoulders and a few tears slipped out. "I love you. I love you. I need you…"

"Oh god Kate…" His words were lost when their mouths crashed together once more.

She loved him. She loved him! He knew—oh god he hoped he knew. He'd guessed how she felt and prayed he wasn't wrong, but hearing her say those words knowing that they had to be one hundred percent truthful was almost too much for him. He had to have her; he had to have her now.

Castle ran his hands down the length of her body and gripped the tops of her thighs before hoisting her up. She locked her legs around his waist and he maneuvered them out of the hall and through the open door to his bedroom. As they crossed the threshold, Kate broke their kiss to unzip her jacket. "Did you wish for this?"

He shook his head and helped her peel the jacket from her shoulders. "I didn't; I swear I didn't!"

With her jacket discarded, Castle tossed her lightly onto the bed and settled down beside her, their lips barely separating for a moment. His hands roamed down her side and up underneath the hem of her shirt while hers clawed at the buttons on his shirt. When his hand reached the bottom edge of her bra, he pulled back and gazed down at her. "Are you sure about this?"

Breathless, she nodded. "I love you, Rick."

He began to say, "I love you, too," but the words were stolen from him by her lips.

* * *

Later, Castle lay on his back in bed, lightly stroking the side of the beautiful woman curled up beside him. Her head rested on his chest and every so often her hand gently squeeze his side. When he lifted his head just enough to brush his lips over the top of her hair, she let out a contented sigh and snuggled closer.

Though he didn't want to move, he also had no intentions of getting out of bed until morning, which meant if either of them planned on getting any sleep that night, the bedroom lamps needed to be turned off. Fortunately, his long arms were able to reach the switch above the bed with minimal effort. Once the room was flooded in darkness Castle caught a glimpse of the backlit alarm clock, which informed him it was shortly after midnight. Smiling to himself, he snuggled back against his companion. He just needed quick nap and then perhaps he'd wake her for round two.

Just as he'd tucked his head into a more comfortable position, he heard her say, "Castle?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you. I…I didn't know I could love anyone this much, but I do."

Rick pulled his arm a bit tighter around her body as he considered her words. It was after midnight; the genie's wish had worn off. She no longer needed to confess all her thought to him by rule of magic, which made him curious. "Why are you telling me this?"

She shifted against him and he could tell she was propping her body up so she could look at him despite the darkness. "Because I don't want to be afraid anymore. I don't want to hide from this."

"No more secrets?"

"No more secrets."

Castle pressed his lips together. He was all about honesty and full disclosure in their budding relationship, but unfortunately that meant he needed to reveal something he'd been hiding. Even if it made her mad, he needed to; that was only fair. "I, ah, should probably tell you…I've been investigating your mother's murder and not telling you about it purposely to keep you from the case as part of a deal I made after you were shot that would keep you safe."

Kate held her breath. That information was shocking and no doubt both concerning and upsetting. Yet, after everything he had done for her that day forgiveness seemed warranted. Besides, she'd been concealing something of her own. "I…heard you tell me you loved me when I was shot; I've remember this whole time I was just too scared to tell you."

Oh, well, that was certainly a twist he hadn't seen coming, but it did make a few things about that day's events make more sense. Clearly, both issues needed to be discussed at length, but for the moment, Castle hoped they could just be. "We should…talk about all that tomorrow."

Smiling inwardly, she settled back down on his chest. "Ok."

He kissed her head. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

He smiled to himself, reveling in hearing those words come out of her mouth with ease. It hardly seemed possible, yet it happened. Just as he had heard more of her inner-most thoughts and visited with her deceased mother. What a strange day. "I still have one more wish you know."

"I thought you said they expired?"

"No, the Kate-can't-keep-things-from-me one did, but not the third wish—the one I didn't make yet. What should we wish for?"

"We?"

"Sure; I want to share my wish with you."

She let out a soft giggle and the arm across his waist tightened. "Ok."

"So...what should we get? Oh—Oh shit I didn't even think!"

"What?"

He grumbled to himself. What an idiot he'd been! He'd spent almost an hour alone with her and he'd been so hyped to get information about Kate, it never even crossed his mind. "We should have asked your mom who killed her."

Kate began to move her body away from his. He felt her legs skim against his as she moved them beneath her. From the change in direction of her voice, he realized she must have been sitting cross-legged beside him. "I did; she wouldn't tell me."

She was silent for almost a minute before she continued. "She said she's okay with me not solving her case if the alternative is me putting my life in danger. She said she didn't want me to end up like her."

Castle breathed in deep and considered these words. That opinion from Johanna made sense. Of course she would do whatever it took to save her daughter from the same horrible fate. However, Castle knew that a large portion of Kate's life had been dedicated to solving the crime and giving up on that would be an adjustment. "And how do you feel about that?"

"I'm not sure yet. I understand what she's saying but...I don't know. I need to think about it."

"Well, if you ever want to talk about it…"

Her hand landed on his chest. "I know. I just need some time."

"Of course."

With that, he heard her let out a heavy breath as she began to move once more. That time, she slipped down beneath the sheets and claimed a spot on the other side of the bed. Her hand found his beneath the covers and with fingers intertwined they fell asleep.

* * *

Castle awoke shortly after six a.m. to a disappointingly empty bed. "Beckett?" he mumbled out, his voice gravely with sleep. For a brief moment he feared she'd left in the middle of the night, but as his eyes began to adjust, he could see her boots tossed haphazardly by the entrance to his bedroom. Unless she'd gone barefoot, she hadn't gone far.

Yawning, Castle slid from bed and pulled on his robe. He shuffled into his office and spotted her silhouette against the opposite window. She sat on the bench with her feet tucked up, her chin resting on her knees as she hugged her shins. A blanket was draped around her shoulders. Castle walked over and pressed a kiss onto her temple before taking a seat beside her.

"Did yesterday happen?" she asked quietly.

He chuckled. "KInda crazy, right?"

Her eyes turned from the window and fell on him. "Castle. There was a genie involved."

He grinned. That fact was never going to get old. "Okay—totally crazy. And…how do you feel about that this morning?"

"I don't know; I don't think it's processed yet."

"Seeing your mom or…us?"

"Both."

For a brief moment, Castle's heart clenched in his chest and the words TOO SOON flashed in his brain. Oh god, was it too much? Confessing her feelings _and_ acting on them? He wanted her so much that he'd been consumed by the moment and forgotten that this was Kate and she wasn't exactly one to jump in with both feet without looking around first. "But…we're together, right? I mean, that's what you want."

Kate's eyes widened as she looked at him. Though the light was dim, she could see his brow kit and she heard the tentative nature of his voice. Unfolding herself, she slid over so that she knelt beside him on the bench. She looped her arms around his neck and smiled. "Oh Castle you look so scared! Of course—of course this is what I want."

Relief flooded through him and he began to babble, "Well, I—I wasn't…I mean, I-"

Kate silenced him with her lips on hers. "Castle. I love you. I want to be with you. I want us to figure this out together, okay?"

"There's nothing I want more." She kissed him again and he slid his arms around her, turning her body into his so that she rotated and sat down in his lap. Her head fell against his shoulder and he held her tightly against him.

After several minutes of internal thought, Kate began, "Castle?"

"Hmm."

"If I asked you to stop investigating my mother's case, would you? I mean, what if we both stopped." She spent most of the night thinking about it. Though at first she had been lulled to sleep by Castle's even breathing, she'd awakened quickly and reviewed her conversation with her mother in her mind. She appreciated the woman's concern for her safety, and had it been anyone other than her mother asking she knew she would not have considered stopping, but as the request was made by the person for whom she sought justice, it was worth consideration. Still, she wasn't sure if she could stand finding closure for others' cases while hers gaped open like a wound.

Similar thoughts ran through Castle's mind and he asked, "Are you going to be okay with that?"

She skimmed her hand down the collar of his robe. "I don't know. Really, I don't. The knowledge that the man who had her killed is out there somewhere living his life knowing he got away with it tears me up, but….but my mother asked me to stop. She said she wants me to have a life, a family. She doesn't want me to end up murdered like she was. And I…I'd like to try and live without knowing, to try and move on. And I'd like you to help me with that."

He hummed and hugged her a bit tighter. "Well…I do know a guy who's pretty darn interested in having a life with you too."

She grinned and lifted her head to look at him. "Yeah? Do you have his number?"

They shared a smile and he kissed her. "Kate, if you want me to stop, I'll stop."

"Okay."

"Okay."

Kate tucked her head back against Castle's chest and shut her eyes. In that moment, she had no idea what the future held. She did not know if she would be satisfied with the unknown or if she'd later beg to use Castle's third genie wish to reveal her mother's killer, but she knew she wanted to try to be happy, to learn to live her life to the fullest day by day and she knew there would be no better man to help her with that than Castle, her partner. The man she loved.

* * *

 _A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading & reviewing. Hope you enjoyed this short-and-sweet crack!fic._

 _Daily updates for the week of Christmas begin in Peace & Joy tomorrow - see you there!_


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